Just My Echo My Shadow
by xbraveryx
Summary: Keller thinks Circle Daybreak is chasing it's tail to find this last Wildpower - convince it to stay, or whatever. Keller doesn't know what's happening. Keller's been - Keller's been completely cut off from the inside intelligence of Circle Daybreak. She has no clue what's happening whatsoever. One Shot.


**Keller thinks Circle Daybreak is chasing it's tail to find this last Wildpower - convince it to stay, or whatever. Keller doesn't know what's happening. Keller's been - ****Keller's been completely cut off from the inside intelligence of Circle Daybreak. She has no clue what's happening whatsoever.  
**2000+ words  
Warning: implied sexual content. And that is it, like there's 'shut up' and 'Goddess' used in there multiple times but that's literally it. oh, and F.L.U.F.F. Prepare yourself, really. You need to.

**I have the ability to write 2000 words about absolutely nothing. That is all I have to say. Oh, lord.**

* * *

It's cold. The kind of cold that chills you're feet until their numb and the rest of your body just follows the same process like a dog on leash.

There has been a lot of following like a dog on leash lately, Keller thinks.

Keller thinks Circle Daybreak is chasing it's tail to find this last Wildpower - convince it to stay, or whatever. Keller doesn't know what's happening. Keller's been-

Keller's been completely cut off from the inside intelligence of Circle Daybreak. She has no clue what's happening whatsoever.

Instead, they replace her with mongrels like Morgead Blackthorn and Delos Redfern in order to secure the Wild Power's placement within Circle Daybreak or whatever.

Keller thinks - no - _knows _that if she were in there, if circle daybreak were half as loyal to her as she'd been to them, then they'd finally be able to start making some ground. Morgead Blackthorn doesn't have _half _the experience she does. Not by a long shot.

So, that is how she finds herself - collapsing onto her _bed _for goddess sake - completely devoid of any drive or motivation whatsoever.

Actually, Keller thinks it would be quite merciful for the ground to just up and swallow her whole right now. Maybe munch Gallen away with her so they can spend the rest of their days sunbathing in the pits of hell.

Gallen likes sunbathing.

_'Princess,'_ Keller scoffs inwardly.

_'I heard that,'_ comes the instinctive resounding voice back.

Keller groans and flops her hands to her face.

Maybe if she just pretends nothing exists for a while it won't, hopefully.

"Knock, knock," Gallen's velvety voice whispers from the door as it clicks open.

Plan officially unsuccessful.

"How are you holding up?" Keller feels the bed dip, feels it acutely and everywhere and rebalances herself almost reflexively with her feline instincts. There's a warm palm brushing hair off her face.

And, shut up Galen, thank you. Keller would just like to be very much angry at the existence of life and you're not helping. She heaves an almighty groan from her chest. Hopes it will get the message across she's too pitiful to say.

"Not good, then," Galen says.

And, really, well done, Sherlock for figuring that one out.

Keller can feel Galen frowning at her.

"Can I do anything?" he asks, hesitant. He's leaning on his hand that's next to Keller's head.

Keller, coming to the conclusion that her soulmate is _never _going to leave her alone to be lonely, sighs and rubs her hands down her face, looks at him with a ice blue glare through her skewed black fringe. "Fire a silver bullet though my chest, if you must," she says sighingly, and, really, being around Morgead 'Mongrel' Blackthorn has really done a number on her. Thinks in another life he could have taught drama classes at school.

But then the picture of him strangling a kid for calling him Morgy comes to mind and the thought is dismissed almost immediately.

Galen frowns impossibly more so. "What?" he asks, startled and blinking.

"It was a joke, Galen, jeez," she says, looks anywhere in the room but him.

"Ok," Galen still sounds hesitant. "Illiana's doing what she can to get you back on the team. She doesn't think she'll be able to do much for Winnie and Nissa though. She's afraid you'll be reassigned to a whole new group."

"Oh," and that's just about, the worst thing in the world that Keller could have heard, thinks Galen can tell just by the tone in her voice. She turns on her side, away from him. She can feel it in her head now, all foggy and numb. Starts to feel the familiar itch beneath her skin to change; morph into a beast with claws and vicious canines and strong, built muscles. Wants to runs until she just can't anymore.

"Keller," she can feel Galen shift towards her like a sixth sense. "Raksha," he whispers, soft and tender like it's something to cherish. And, just...

"Galen," she breaths, trying to keep her voice strong and strait. "Please," and her voice cracks right in the middle of the 'ea' and then Galen's just around her, holding her tight to his back and strong and there and she falls back onto him like he's the only thing keeping her together.

She still tries to keep collected, makes it her own personal mission to defeat as many tears as she's able to before they flow from her eyes because that, _that_ is something that's engrained into her soul. That's something not even the apocalypse can change. That's hers.

"Raksha, shhhh. It's okay, Kitten," and Galen's behind her, ironing soothing words into the back of her neck and peppering kisses their like he wants to tattoo them to her skin.

"Galen," and she can't help it, her voice sounds wet. And she absolutely _hates _herself for it. Can't stand herself right now, as much as she loves Galen here like this. Appreciates his comfort that she knows he itches to give to her.

"Yes, Kitten?" He nudges after a few to many beat of silence, the air thick and pressing around the two of them, Galen's arm hot and insistent around her waist.

"Do ever wonder what the point of all this is?" she asks, dragging a hand across her eyes and nose and mouth jerkily. "Like, what exactly are we supposed to do here? Count down the days of our death's? What the whole point of _living_? What were we supposed to achieve down here, huh? Build ourselves up just so someone can rip it away from us, is that it?"

There's a defiant, loud beat where nothing exists but silence and Gallen's breath warm on the back of her neck and his arm and his smell and just, goddess. Why?

Then, "I think, I don't know what to tell you." And like the eloquent as ever prince he was raised, he says, "I think the whole point of this is to do as much as we can and learn and live. I think it's a test against our morals and our judgement and our drive, that we're sent here to learn the evil of the world and the good. I think we're here to find happiness, loneliness, hate and love." Galen's brushes a thumb over Keller's stomach. "I think we're here to find ourselves, out of it all. I think that's what was intended when we were put here. And, I'd do it all over again, because, _Raksha_, out of all the things I've seen and learnt and done, I think I know myself best when I'm with you."

And just like that, stupid Galen answers life's problems with that stupid sappy thing he likes to and, just..

Keller literally hauls all of her muscles to swivel herself around and plant a kiss on Galen's lips. Later she'll say that it was just to shut him up, because, hello sap, but he'll smile with crinkles in his eyes and look at her like he knows so it'll be okay.

But for now, she just wants this, long and slow and deep, Galen lips on hers and his tongue flicking to lick inside and yeah.

Maybe this can be hers too. Maybe this can be what she needs to hold on to.

"Just one thing," she gripes, pulling away from Galen, who so obviously tries to stifle his groan like the prince charming he is. Ha. "I think," she says and smiles, "I think it's not just that, I think," and, yeah, she doesn't speak as smoothly as Galen, she's not used to laying her heart out on her tongue and blowing it into people's faces for them to judge. "I think that it's also a test, yeah, the whole finding yourself... thing. But, I think, for me, and maybe you, that it's also a test on figuring out what to - hold? - on to so - to not, like, lose yourself. Does that make sense?" She looks to Galen, heart pounding erratically in her chest and he responds with a smile. So big that Keller thinks there might actually be something in her throat that's making this lump.

"Yeah. What do you think you need to hold onto in order not to loose yourself, Kitten? Where did this come from?" Galen looks at her knowingly as if the answer is tattooed on her forehead, but caring and cautious as ever, because he's Galen and all he does is think about other people and how words might effect them and such.

"Shut up," Keller mutters fleetingly before pressing her lips back to Galen's.

And, yeah, Keller thinks that she'd quite like to do it all over again too, if it were any consolation.

Later, when Galen's asleep and Keller's drifting on the edges of unconsciousness (and is whispering into warm skin that isn't hers, "it's you. I think I might want to hold on to you." And goddess, what has this boy done to her?) Illiana simply bursts into the room, loud and excited like a puppy with her blond, wild hair and wide eyes.

"You're back in, Keller!" she squeals, flopping onto the unceremoniously and, really, what kind of wild power?

Galen groans next to her and flops a hand against air dismissively. "Back in what, Illiana?" Keller snaps and Illiana doesn't even react which is like, wow, what kind of news is this?

"You're back in! And Nissa and Winnie! Oh my Goddess, Keller! Get up right now! Oh my-ARE YOU NAKED!?" And she's looking back and forth between Galen and Keller with horror-shot, wide eyes and backpedalling out of the room completely, spewing almost incomprehensible stutters like, "I'm sorry, so sorry," and "I'm such an idiot," and "You really, do tha-_no_ forget that. I'm sorry, Oh my Goddess."

The blond haired, red faced beauty nearly has the door shut when Keller yells, "back in what, Illiana?" nearly as red as the girl on the opposing side of the door.

"Circle Daybreak, Inside Corper-what-thing that you got kicked out of. Oh my Goddess. I'm sorry." She's down the hall by the time that she calls out, "Nissa and Winnie too!"

And Keller, fully woken up, is pretty sure that she's white as a sheet, sickly and uninviting, but she doesn't care, looks beside her to Galen who is blinking against sleep and wiping a big paw against his face like a big cat and oh, Goddess, why is everything so big at the moment? Keller literally feels like she's drowning in her King sized bed and pent-house room and-

"You got back in," Galen says in his sleep voice, all husky and gravelled and Goddess.

"Yeah," Keller replies, mouth dry.

"Nissa and Winnie too."

"Yes."

"That's good."

"It is."

And, Galen never much being one to appreciate the likes of waking up, turns to his other side away from Keller and drifts back into sleep, snoring softly against the pillow.

Keller thinks (and it's allowed, because Galen's corniness was bound to rub off on her sooner or later) that if she were given the chance to pick between being sent to heaven or reliving this life over and over again, she'd pick this life. Because at that moment with Galen beside her doing the literally the only thing that could possibly be imperfect about him, snoring heftily into his pillow, Keller thinks she knows herself better than she ever has before.

* * *

**I have no idea how this happened. **I'm 99% certain this is the product of some serious subconscious procrastination against homework. I need help.

If I get feedback on this, I'll tell my career advisor I want to become a prostitute. Go, NOW!


End file.
